Going Someplace We’ve Not Been Before : Gusto 101 Restaurant

A week ago Sunday, Nick and I set out for a walk in the afternoon. We had no destination in mind before leaving the house and literally flipped a coin when we got to the first major corner, to decide if we would go left or right. The random walk took us up through Trinity Bellwoods Park which was packed with people out enjoying the beautiful weather.

At the northern edge we turned east on Dundas, and walked until we passed Bathurst Street. Then we turned south again and by the time we got down to Queen Street, we decided to go someplace to eat.

Being creatures of habit when it comes to our restaurant choices we find ourselves returning to places we know. In fact, not only do we go to the same places, we usually get the same meal that we had last time. These are great places with terrific food, but we’ve talked about changing up our routine recently and trying some of the many restaurants in our neighbourhood that we’ve never been to before. So a second flip of the coin determined our direction once again and we eventually found ourselves in front of a place I’ve passed on previous walks, that I’ve been interested in trying out.

Gusto 101 is an Italian restaurant (located on Portland Street, just north of King) and describes itself as serving ‘the classics of Southern Italy with some twists’.

Having left the house not intending to end up at a restaurant, we weren’t sure if we were dressed appropriately, but a look at the outdoor patio told us that this was just the right amount of casual for us not to feel out of place in our going-for-a-walk outfits.

The building was originally an abandoned auto body shop and the decor reflects that. I loved how the whole front of the place opened right up to the outdoors. There was also seating up on the open rooftop and the patio out front, however I prefer to eat in the shade so we went inside where the open front made it feel nice and airy.

We began with a drink, Italian Peroni beer for me, and a mixed cocktail called a Negrino for Nick, that had rum, vermouth and orange bitter in it.

To eat we shared a burger and some pizza. Both were very good and the dishes we saw being brought to other tables looked delicious too.

Trying out this new-to-us place was really fun and interesting, and I look forward to checking out more restaurants we’ve never been to before over the summer, when the weather is perfect for aimless strolling and deciding where to go, as you go. That said, I also look forward to a return visit to Gusto and will be adding it to our list of the ‘tried and true’.